Imaging of transparent phase samples using a wire grid polarizer (WGP)-based shearing interferometer is demonstrated. The proposed setup employs a WGP as a beam splitter in a triangular cyclic interferometer setup, so that the two counterpropagating beams are rendered linearly polarized in orthogonal directions as they emerge from the interferometer. These sheared waved fronts are made to pass through the phase sample. The magnitude of shear is affected by controlled angular shifts of one mirror about the reference X and Y axes. For each of these directional shears, the polarization phase shifting is implemented so as to generate a three-dimensional phase pattern, which is digitally combined and integrated to yield the sample phase. The proposed setup is robust, sufficiently tolerant to ambient vibrations, and shows very encouraging experimental results.
The development of a laser-based quantitative phase microscope with phase-shifting capability is reported. The proposed arrangement utilizes a suitably converging laser beam to illuminate the sample, a long working distance microscope objective, a wire grid polarizer to generate collinearly propagating and orthogonally polarized sample and reference beams, and polarizing devices for polarization phase shifting. Reorientation of a polarizer will revert the microscope back to a standard bright-field microscope that can be used for viewing the object under test.
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